More and more "Strength and Conditioning" coaches are utilizing the kettlebell to help them develop the best football players for their respective teams. Kettlebells are evil and so are the people that use them. NOTHING will prepare you for the rigors of the gridiron the way that kettlebells will. How is that?



First of all, the kettlebell allows an athlete to learn how to do Olympic style lifts much more quickly and in most cases, much more safely than you would be able to teach it with a barbell and plates. Olympic lifts require great power but are often not taught as they are a bit more difficult to learn than some other forms of resistance training. Kettlebells will allow your athletes to clean and jerk and snatch very quickly. In addition, the range of motion is not limited by the bar so you can really load your hips and explode. Explosive power is essential for football success. All players need to be able to roll their hips forward and come out of their stance; they all need to be able to extend the hips, which certainly the swings and some of the other exercises involve.

Second, football requires fatigue management. We all have seen evidence of fatigue winning the battle when we see defensive linemen dragging ass in the fourth quarter of a key matchup. Kettlebells will give you another level of conditioning quite a bit different than your opponent. A level of conditioning that will gird you for that all important last push and give you the mental toughness to never say die. Swings and snatches are two all important exercises to help battle fatigue.

All players need stability and strength in their torso, the linkage between the lower body and the upper body. All players need shoulder strength, shoulder stability and strength in their pressing and pulling muscles. You simply need to have strong joints, especially in your shoulders and knees. Kettlebell practice with the Turkish Get Up and swings will really help to improve those areas of concern. The Clean and Press will also really help stabilize the shoulder joint and football tends to tear up shoulders. The wind mill is another great tool to help here. Kettlebells do a great job of training the body's musculature, to increase strength throughout the full range of motion, as well as training for power, and endurance. They could be applied universally to the training for ALL football players. I think that all football players need to have the appropriate ability to bend their knees, to get into and maintain a powerful low position, which certain kettlebell drills will definitely reinforce and enhance. The swing comes to mind again. All players need stability and strength in their torso, the linkage between the lower body and the upper body. All players need shoulder strength, shoulder stability and strength in their pressing and pulling muscles.

Copyright (c) 2008 Sandy Sommer